A feeling of disappointment was the consensus after last night's Penn women's soccer game.
The Quakers walked off the field after struggling en route to a 1-0 loss to Delaware last night in Newark.
"We are very disappointed," Penn coach Darren Ambrose said. "We need to find some character and some determination to get us out of the slump we're in."
Last year's game against the Blue Hens resulted in a declaration of Penn as a contender rather than a disappointing 1-0 loss.
The Quakers entered this year's game well aware of Delaware's fiery competitiveness.
"We knew they weren't going to quit," Penn sophomore defender Jessica Woodward said. "[Ambrose] told us going into the game that it was a matter of us beating our opposing player.
"We knew it was going to come down to which team wanted it more."
The Quakers wanted it more in last year's game against the Blue Hens.
Sophomore forward Rachelle Snyder led the Quakers over Delaware last year, netting four goals in a hockey-like 6-4 victory, including a goal just 14 seconds into the game.
This year's game proved to be much less eventful.
Delaware scored the only goal of the game in the 27th minute. Junior Ginna Lewing earned her second goal of the year off a pass from fellow junior Caryn Blood.
Blood handed out her team-leading fifth assist of the season.
The Quakers entered the halftime break trailing by a goal and feeling a bit dumbfounded.
"We just didn't put it together and it's hard to understand why," Woodward said. "We were being very predictable, which played into their strengths."
Penn failed to capitalize on six second half shots and three corner kicks.
The loss drops the Quakers below .500 at 5-6-1, while upping Delaware's record to 7-5-1.
A definite feeling of confusion exists among the Penn ranks.
"We haven't been able to put it together a few times this year," Woodward said. "It seems to be a problem of ours."
Ambrose was able to classify Woodward's thoughts more directly.
"It boils down to individuals needing to step up," he said. "They need to take some responsibility to pull us out of the slump. Right now we need to mature and grow up together as a team."
While the Quakers have not faired well in non-league games this season, they still have a chance to defend their Ivy League crown. The Red and Blue are currently 1-1-1 in the Ancient Eight.
Penn has four Ivy League contests remaining against Columbia, Yale, Brown and Dartmouth. These four will be crucial in determining the Quakers' possibility of repeating as Ivy champs and earning another spot in the NCAA tournament.
Woodward is well aware of the magnitude of Penn's remaining games.
"We need to figure something out," she said. "We are running out of time."
